Sirius

[Crimson Tide]

Looking for some advice before trekking out to buy something I know nothing about.

After looking through the lineups, I'm going with Sirius. Mostly for Alabama football next fall, NFL and Howard Stern, but also, the radio selections here are ****.

But what exactly do I have to buy to listen to it? Obviously, the receiver, but is there a kind that will work in a vehicle kit and a home boom box? Any recommendations?

 

[tommyp]

Most of the receivers made have the ability to connect from home and the car. I believe the Sportster works in a boombox; my unit (Visor) hooks to my stereo and I can take it with me to my car, where I have it hardwired to my car stereo.

 

[donnie23]

Not intended to be a threadjack, but I am getting XM as a delayed X-mas gift, mostly for baseball, etc. I need advice on which receiver to buy (SkyFi, etc.) I have an aux jack and plan to bypass the FM transmitter by using the line out. Anyway, thoughts from any XM folks?

 

[jambalaya]

The only thing I know about Sirius is the fact I'm glad I chose not to buy their stock in 2005. A merger with XM seems more possible every day.

 

[Columbo]

I got the sportster and boombox for XMas.

I installed it in the car (antenna on the back roof of our SUV, stringing the wire to the front of the car.... whole nine yards) and have been very disappointed how often I "lose antenna" when driving around in open spaces, and the boom box is OK as long as you don't want to use it to listen to programming in the house.

Whatever my wife spent on this, plus the two-year plan they swindled from me..... has been close to an utter waste.

 

[Football_Bat]

I got the sportster and boombox for XMas.

I installed it in the car (antenna on the back roof of our SUV, stringing the wire to the front of the car.... whole nine yards) and have been very disappointed how often I "lose antenna" when driving around in open spaces, and the boom box is OK as long as you don't want to use it to listen to programming in the house.

Whatever my wife spent on this, plus the two-year plan they swindled from me..... has been close to an utter waste.

A lot of both XM and Sirius' signals are boosted by terrestrial towers. Which is why you may lose signal in the country. Which, since I mainly live in said country, is why I get my XM joy from DirecTV channels.

 

[tommyp]

The only problm I've had with Sirius' reception is under trees that are fully in bloom. I've driven up and down the northeast--including in open country--and have had no problems with reception.

 

[Cosmo]

Not intended to be a threadjack, but I am getting XM as a delayed X-mas gift, mostly for baseball, etc. I need advice on which receiver to buy (SkyFi, etc.) I have an aux jack and plan to bypass the FM transmitter by using the line out. Anyway, thoughts from any XM folks?

donnie ... I got the Delphi Skyfi2 last year for Xmas to go with my XM subscription and also got the home kit. Skyfi works fine with the aux port (I have one on my new car stereo) and the home kit is real nice. You just switch the Skyfi back and forth between the home and car sets.

 

[Ace]

You can get the receiver that will work in your car and take it out to play in the boombox. You will need the antenna for each.

You also could hook it up to the home stereo instead of the boom box.

 

[Lamar Mundane]

Get XM - Opie and Anthony plus Ron and Fez are worth the monthly subscription price alone. Howie has sent Sirius into the dumper and likely will merger with XM by 2008.

"I invented radio, Robin. Hoo. Hoo."

 

[Ace]

Get XM - Opie and Anthony plus Ron and Fez are worth the monthly subscription price alone. Howie has sent Sirius into the dumper and likely will merger with XM by 2008.

"I invented radio, Robin. Hoo. Hoo."

They have sports and music on both, too. So I hear.

 

[ThomsonONE]

Get XM - Opie and Anthony plus Ron and Fez are worth the monthly subscription price alone. Howie has sent Sirius into the dumper and likely will merger with XM by 2008.

"I invented radio, Robin. Hoo. Hoo."

You're dead wrong about Stern hurting Sirius. Stern's $500 million deal has already paid for itself.

 

[DrRosenpenis]

Stern stinks. Plus, he puts out a live show only three or four days a week now.

And who listens to the NFL on radio? Baseball, sure, but not NFL. Most people are at a bar or in front of the TV at home for NFL games. Do people just drive around on Sunday afternoons listening to the NFL on Sirius? Doubtful.

Baseball is a far better selling point for XM because there's games every night of the week.

 

[Lucas Wiseman]

I love my Sirius... and Stern... he's on Monday-Thursday for about five hours each day.

I have the S50 receiver and love it. If you spend any time in airports or on planes, you NEED to get either the S50 or the new Stiletto. The Stiletto is a lot more expensive (it just came out) but it looks awesome. You can get an S50 pretty cheap these days, I think.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Stern's show is the greatest... Sirius had 500K subscribers before they signed Stern and now they have more than six million. As someone else said, he's more than paid for himself.

I love Sirius. I go crazy without it. I got the Stiletto for Christmas and it's just ****ing incredible...

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Most of the receivers made have the ability to connect from home and the car. I believe the Sportster works in a boombox; my unit (Visor) hooks to my stereo and I can take it with me to my car, where I have it hardwired to my car stereo.

The Visor also works in a boombox, although it's a different box than the Sportster uses because the receivers are made by different companies.

 

[tommyp]

Get XM - Opie and Anthony plus Ron and Fez are worth the monthly subscription price alone. Howie has sent Sirius into the dumper and likely will merger with XM by 2008.

"I invented radio, Robin. Hoo. Hoo."

Stern stinks. Plus, he puts out a live show only three or four days a week now.

And who listens to the NFL on radio? Baseball, sure, but not NFL. Most people are at a bar or in front of the TV at home for NFL games. Do people just drive around on Sunday afternoons listening to the NFL on Sirius? Doubtful.

Baseball is a far better selling point for XM because there's games every night of the week.

Stern is the reason I got Sirius. Stern's show now is funnier, more irreverent and more of a must-listen than it ever has been. And geez, the guy has set parameters, spawned imitators (O&A the most well-known of the bunch), and fought with the government and radio assholes for 25-plus years. In my estimation, he has earned a right to work a four-day week.

As far as the sports offered, I can agree that MLB would be a nice thing to have, but on a Sunday afternoon, if I am out and about, I have no problem listening to an NFL game, as I did Saturday night.

And then there's commercial-free music, unlike what can be found on XM.

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

Just got a 2005 Mazda 3 that is satellite ready (I think ... it has a SAT button on the deck). Anyone have experience with satellite-ready cars (such as where to find the ID number Sirius needs)? Mazda is among the many cars makers that have a deal with Sirius.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

Stern's show is the greatest... Sirius had 500K subscribers before they signed Stern and now they have more than six million. As someone else said, he's more than paid for himself.

I don't think your 500k number is accurate, but he's clearly driven a lot of folks to Sirius. From today's NY Times:

Today, thanks in part to the outsize radio personality, the Stern Effect has increased Sirius’s base to about six million subscribers, up 80 percent from one year ago.

 

[tommyp]

The Visor also works in a boombox, although it's a different box than the Sportster uses because the receivers are made by different companies.

I do like the unit's portability, but don't drop it on the ground. It is fragile. I am now on my second unit, which, unsurprisingly, I had to fix after another drop (born klutz I am), but a soldering iron came through for me.